A young couple rescues an old sailboat to chase their dreams.

5 Lessons In Having Fun on a Boat

Swinging on a mooring on a beautiful sunny Saturday in Hamburg Cove, just a few minutes from Essex, Karen and I were enjoying some quiet time reading in the cockpit. Our afternoon entertainment would be provided by our neighbor in an express cruiser with a cockpit filled with kids.

At first glance they didn’t appear to be your normal kids. There was not an iPad nor iPhone anywhere in sight; the boys are girls were chatting with each other in an animated fashion. The owner/father tied a line to StandUp Paddleboard and tossed in the placid water behind his boat. Like well-trained golden retrievers the children jumped in after it. An epic game of “King of the Board” would soon ensue.

We left for a long dinghy ride just as things were really heating up. After a couple hours of exploring Seldon Creek to the north we returned to our mooring and were shocked to see the kids still splashing around in the water. Twisting the top off a cold beer to celebrate all the exercise my dinghy outboard got, I was getting tired just watching these kids.

These kids would continue swimming, jumping, paddling and well, just being kids even as the evening rays gave way to moonlight.

Growing up on a boat I enjoyed similar simplicities such as swimming long after your fingers had pruned, perfecting your cannonball technique, and enjoying a crispy hotdog from the grill. When family friends or fellow cruisers were aboard my brother and I would sit with them and be part of the conversation, even if we had very little to contribute to the topic at hand. It was a childhood I hope every kid gets the chance to experience, if even for a short while.

As Karen and I heard the gaggle of kids scream, as kids do, before splashing into the water for the umpteenth time, Karen mentioned how it was nice to see kids actually enjoying the outdoors instead of being glued to a screen. I nodded in agreement as a screech came across the quiet cove, “I’m king of the boaarrrdddd!”

So I would only be slightly annoyed when I heard the distinctive sound of a perfectly executed cannonball at 7 the next morning.

I’m sure some of my neighbors found the screaming kids to be annoying at times, but I really didn’t mind it. I saw a lot of myself in those constantly splashing children. In fact, I’m thankful they were there to remind me of a few things; such as

It’s impossible not to smile while doing a cannonball

You can do cannonball without screaming “cannonballllll!!” before hand, but it’s more fun if you do

Charred hot dogs after swimming tastes better than the best cut of steak on a normal day

It’s OK to fall asleep at 8:30 after a full day on the water

If you want to swim as soon as you wake up, do it. Anybody rolling their eyes at you is just jealous.

3 thoughts on “5 Lessons In Having Fun on a Boat”

Sounds so inviting as I read this, and love hearing about the kids minus the electronic gadget . As I was reading I could visualize all that was going on, that is what a great writer can do. thanks for a great read.